A BID WRITERS’ BLOG
As a professional bid writer I help my clients to prepare their tender response documentation But a question that I am often asked is “Can an SME really win a Public Sector tender?”
The answer is most definitely “yes” but to have a good chance of success you will need to follow my Ten Golden Rules of bid writing – which are:
1. Only bid if you CAN win – not just because you WANT to win.
2. Don’t lie!
3. Go through commercial conditions with a fine toothed comb….
4. Check timescales regarding bid return and contract start dates
5. Know what the client really wants and if you can’t meet the requirement then don’t bid.
6. Know your competitors
7. Plan the bid presentation and make it look good.
8. Spend serious money if working on a serious bid!
9. Don’t bid if you can’t cope…..
10. Finally – what to do if you don’t win…..
To underline the validity of these golden rules, when bid writing for my SME clients I/we follow these Golden Rules and are currently winning around 40% of the bids we “go for”.
The recent Procurement Act will make it easier for SME’s to bid for Public Sector tenders and I will cover the key aspects of that Act in my next blog.
Tim Colman – Timecheck Consulting